I have been thinking about this race for over a week now. It was a tough one and I had not expected that. Not that a 1/2 IM is ever easy, but I felt prepared and ready to race. I have done this one before and remembered it being amazing. The swim, bike and run course are scenic and challenging and familiar. Being familiar with the course, I thought I had it made. That, it seems, may have been a flaw in my logic.

My two big races this year were Lavaman and St. George 70.3. Both I had never done before. They made my stomach churn in anticipation of race day. Since I had never done them before, I was excited but never set a solid time goal for either.

For Victoria, I was calm, confident and had set some solid time goals. I set my 2013 time goals based on my previous time in 2009. In 2009 my time was 5:47:37. It was my second 1/2 IM and I remember feeling great in and after the race. This year I can easily do 5:40. My swim is about the same or faster that it was in 2009, my bik…

In preparation for the Victoria 1/2 Ironman this weekend, I took a day trip to Victoria a couple of weekends ago to ride the course. Ellen, who is always up for cycling fun, was excited for the adventure. We took a 7am ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. Parking at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, we rode on the ferry. This is a cheaper option than brining the car over and much more fun. It does, however, require a bit more planning.

Waiting for the ferry in the holding pen. Yay, no rain!

We paid the extra $12 to sit in the SeaWest Lounge. Quiet environment, comfy chairs, unlimited Starbucks coffee, yogurt, fruit and cheese! Well worth the extra money. View from the lounge. I had the map for the route loaded in my phone but forgot the paper map. My concern was my iPhone running out of juice before we were done. A BC InfoCentre popped up at the perfect time on the Pat Bay Hwy so we stopped in for some info. After grabbing a map, we were on our way. We still managed to get off cou…